Classical Arabic is a language with ancient roots and 15 centuries of literary tradition, continuing to the present day. Classical Arabic offers special rewards to the dedicated student, with its unusually rich vocabulary, architectural grammar and treasury of literature from history, philosophy and the natural sciences to poetry, belles lettres, mysticism and, especially, scripture or the Qur’an.
Classical Arabic is the root of Modern Standard Arabic and of the various spoken dialects (such as North African, Egyptian, Lebanese or Gulf Arabic). ARBC 101–202 do not provide instruction in the vocabulary and idiom of Modern Standard Arabic or of the spoken dialects, but offer an excellent foundation for students wishing to pursue such instruction in the future.
- ARBC 101 and 102 will enable students to read, write and pronounce Arabic script, then read and comprehend passages from classical Arabic texts, analyzing their grammatical and stylistic features.
- ARBC 101 covers the nominal sentence with adjectives and construct phrases.
- ARBC 102 covers pronouns, prepositions, verbs and the verbal sentence, and introduces the use of negative and interrogative particles.
- Arabic 201 builds on the 100-level ARBC offerings, with an extensive exploration of the derivation, conjugation and mood of the complex verb. We then study Negative, Interrogative, Vocative and Exclamatory Particles as well as Particles of Exception. The term concludes with the Incomplete verb and Conditional phrases. We continue reading and analyzing illustrative sentences from classical texts and the Qur’an, and conclude the year with longer readings from scriptural and historical sources. New students will need to devote significant time to reviewing the text and mastering the English grammatical terminology used in parsing exercises.
- Arabic 202 builds on the content of ARBC 201, beginning with the Incomplete verb and Conditional phrases. We continue reading and analyzing illustrative sentences from classical texts and the Qur’an, and conclude the year with longer readings from scriptural and historical sources. New students will need to devote significant time to reviewing the text and mastering the English grammatical terminology used in parsing exercises.
Hanna E Kassis, A Beginner’s Introduction to Classical Arabic
Hans Wehr, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic